Alas, Punjab is Awakening!

36 years too late that resulted in the unprecedented loss of East Pakistan, but there is a saying in urdu “Subha ka bhoola Shaam dhalayy aajayeyy too ussay bhoola nahi kehtay” (A person who looses his way in the morning, if he reaches his destination before sunset than indeed he wasn’t lost). Famous columnist of dawn Mr. Ayaz Mir recently said and I quote “We should be aware of the deadweight of Punjabi tradition, bootlicking being a constant of Punjab’s history and politics. The Q League is the name not of a party but a phenomenon.” This coming from not only the son of Punjab but also an ex major in the Army. And this is why no one should ever count the Pakistanis down and out because its people like Ayaz Mir and numerous others that are the hope for a brighter tomorrow. They are not afraid to confront the oppressive Army establishment and they have the moral fiber to rise beyond their petty interest and raise the voice of discontent.

That voice of revolution and disgruntlement against the ruthless, cunning and calculated status-quo had to resonate in Punjab if it was to materialize because Pakistan has not and will not become the success-story & promise-land that it still can until and unless our Punjabi brethren kick the “doctrine of necessity” aside and embrace the true spirit of democracy. I pray to God that what happened on May 5th in the land of 5 rivers was a beginning of a ‘beautiful thing’. “Kufr Toota Khudaa Khuda karkay”.

The yellow-pundits and the apologists for the govt. can cry foul every day of the week, twice on Sundays but the boat has already sailed my friends. This was the last straw that literally broke the camel’s back. The people of Pakistan needed an excuse to vent and thanks to Brother Commando that he messed with the wrong marine and what ensued is history. This is no longer a constitutional matter. Let’s not Kidd ourselves here! And quite frankly its outlandish when the talk of respecting the judicial process and constitution stems from the same jokers who have openly mocked and raped the constitution and flaunted the due process in our country just because they have the most guns. Where is constitution when the President is also the Army-Chief and Chairman of the Lota league all at the same time? Where is due process when citizens are abducted by security agencies and their families are beaten, their clothes get ripped off just because they make the cardinal sin of asking about the whereabouts of their loved-ones?

I have said it a gazillion time before and I’ll say it again, we the people of Pakistan need to make a basic decision at this juncture in our history. Is Pakistan going to be a banana republic where the might (read Army) will rule? Or will we, the people of Pakistan, decide our own fate? It’s been 60 years now for the love of GOD; I think it’s safe to say that no one will blame us for making a decision in haste.

Let’s also humanize our Heroes. What do I mean by that? I have no doubt that the chief justice might have made a phone call to get his son promoted. I don’t have any concrete evidence that he did but IF he did, I wouldn’t be surprised nor would I still be hesitant to stand with him in this struggle because I live on planet earth and I realize that we don’t live in a perfect world, this is Pakistan we are talking about, so lets get our heads out of the sand. This is not about whether Chief Justice was buying acne cream from his medical allowance, nor is it about him getting some favors for family & friends, it never was! Because if it was then we wouldn’t have had known convicted looters, bank-defaulters, land-grabbers, real-estate scammers, thugs and thieves in our cabinet. This is about him taking a suo-moto action against the fishy transaction of Steel mill, this is about him inquiring on his own about the whereabouts of the abducted, and he was getting nosy and kind of spoiling the party for the establishment in Islamabad. Chief Justice was acting like the annoying uncle who would shame you to turn-off the hoopla at your cousin’s mehndi because the call for fajar was originating from the minarets. You knew he was right and you had been partying all night but you wish he didn’t.

I am under no illusion that Chief Justice is a saint. How could he be? Am I one? Are you any better? No one is perfect but we need to understand that this is a historical moment in the history of Pakistan. For once someone has stood up to the General and said “I am not scared of your guns!” We the people of Pakistan must broadcast this message to our Generals that we are not their occupied territory. We will honor them and respect them as long as they stay within the bounds of the constitution of Pakistan. I think Peoples Party would be highly foolish to make any deal with Army establishment. Whoever claims to be a democratic force in Pakistan must realize that you can’t keep your whites spotless if you insist on hanging out with coal-miners.

Meer sada hein buhat, beemar hoayy jiskay sabab,

Ussii Attarr kay londay say dawa laytay hein.

The most surprising aspect of this whole fiasco has been the recent rhetoric from MQM. I get why the Q leaguies have their knickers in a bunch. After all if Musharaf goes so goes the carnival because without Musharaf (or more importantly, his clothing) they are good as dead. But MQM has a political constituency; they have a voter-base which can still make them a player in the democratic process, so initially when they stayed on the sidelines and for the most part remained impartial it was a smart ploy. But now all of a sudden they are becoming “Shah say barh karr shah kay wafadar” at this critical juncture and considering that the same “Shah” has wreaked havoc at them not in distant past (we haven’t forgotten Aligarh and Qasba colony massacres have we?) so its quite troubling and I hope that sense prevails and they stop “feeding milk to the snake” otherwise not only the historian wouldn’t be kind at this expediency and moral-bankruptcy but the “snake” is not known to be a domesticated pet and it’s a recipe for disaster. All the “snake-feeders” are duly warned.

Reader Comments:

Punjab is Awakening

The writer has balanced his article but one point is worth noting that Punjab never slept and will never snore. With the wealth of wisdom and resources in Punjab they are confident that they are the Rulers and not any other. They supported Bhutto, PPPP, PML N and also the military. When Nawaz Sharif started bungling money from the treasury and looted the Banks, something got to be done and a change over came along in Uniform, Gen. Musharraf took over. While he is there Punjab is not harmed because Gen. knows who are next to him and Punjab will not tolerate anything silly from Gen. Musharraf, MQM, PPPP or PML N. A majority province with huge armies with dominaring Punjabis its not easy to tremble them. There are some hick ups in the government but still PML Q is the party ruling the country but they have a man Gen. Musharraf whether in Uniform or without country is doing fine economically. Prime Mininster is from Karachi but he is a civilian Pakistan who is very dedicated person and his abilities have shown by brining economy from ruins to riches with Foreign Exchange upto $14B with so many mega projects in process and developing. MQM has acted silly in Karachi and so is the CJ who went out of the way to get publicity, though its not his jurisdiction to play any political rule while he is the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Punjab needs stabibility in Pakistan being the populous and financially stronger province. In no way snakes are fed by Punjabis, its only an imagination and would not go for it. The turmoiled situation in Karachi will come to normal in couple of days time and MQM will be asked to clear their position by other players in the parliament and opposition as this is a concern for all Pakistanis and would like to know why it went that far where human lives are lost?

mohammad, United Arab Emirates - 14 May, 2007

Biggest political party in pakistan is "Pakistan Army"

Ahmer, Well written article.
The reality is that the biggest political party in Pakistan is pakistan Army this was established by Zia,who during his confrontation with Bhutto decided that there should be never any political leader of tall stature.SO he made MQM,and thereafter every CNC has put his "dast-e-shafqat"on it because it is a practicality of "divide and rule" and then MQM can be used to present its support as it happened in Karachi recently.It was very tragic and CNC was saying the people's power played its role in pakistan.Then there is Q league which has those who openly say they will get Musharraf elected in uniform for 10 years just that their crimes and activities don't get investigated, while during the process reduce Pakistan to the level of Burma or ThaiLand.Army's reputation and respect has sunk to record low.Now the Army officers should demand the return of Army to barracks and border to save further erosion in its esteem.

Dr.Khan, United Kingdom - 15 May, 2007

Keep on dreaming!

Pathetic is the perfect word for ur article. I am all for president musharraf and his party and no i am not on his payroll. He is doing a much better job than your mian and bibi. Cut the crap and write something useful next time.

Hash, - 15 May, 2007

Punjab is Awakening

I go along with Hash who has clean and fair mind and is very truthfull. He knows the facts and is not against a person who has done a lot for Pakistan after throwing a corrupt PM Nawaz Sharif. Whether he is wearing a Uniform or without makes no difference to the general public. Their main concern is Rooti, Kapra and Makan. The basics are gradually being met. Lot of funds are allocated for education and other social sectors are in reform process and country is doing fine under the present government of Gen Musharraf and Mr. Aziz. Look at the foreign exchange reserves above $13.50B. When Nawaz Sharif was thrown out there were only $333m and no foreign lender would bother to know about Pakistan. No foreign investors would come at that time. At the moment Pakistan is number two in Asia where people got mobile phones and its a basic as well. India leads and second is Pakistan. Look at the construction industry which is at boom and considered a backbone of economy. Look at the export of Cement and a record breaking harvest of Wheat? What more one expects from Gen. Musharraf and Mr. Aziz. Its easy to criticise but its better if you are fair in your comments. There are areas where lot of work is still needed and economy is going in the right direction and eventually country will become self reliant in many areas. Keeping Gen Musharraf in Uniform is good for a country like Pakistan where everyone wants to be President or PM and that is not on. Let him wear whatever he wants and carry on working and paid for one position. Nothing wrong with that. There is no such democracy anywhere in the world where is without some short comings. A healthy criticism is good for improvement but criticising just for the sake of criticism is absolutely wrong and be avoided.

mohammad, United Arab Emirates - 15 May, 2007

alas punjab is awakening

how could you forget where pakistan was before musharraf. we in america are proud of a leader who has done so much. only opposition dont want to accept the progress .

M.RIAZ, United Kingdom - 16 May, 2007

Zia, made MQM

Thats quite a joke Dr. Khan, if Zia had such level of intellect he would still be around too.
In all sincerity I believe that its time to start with a clean slate and instead of talking democracy Pakistan should think of practicing democracy and give up the mentality of taking advantage and practicing opportunism.
The existing political parties should be abolished and the total system should be reduced to two major parties. One of the most talked about democracy of today's world USA has only two parties while the third one which has attempted to be recognized as one has to go through stringent requirements even to nominate a candidate.
Every party in Pakistan is created because some of the people most of the time dont agree with their party on a given matter and they are professionals when it comes to forming splinter groups.
The more parties there will be the more problems one can expect because all those parties are struggling or mud slinging the other with an aspiration to hold the reigns of Govt so they can benefit their cronies. There are hardly any number of people who participate in politics of Pakistan with a kind heart & prudence so they can do something for the benefit of all the citizens, instead they are always found to be hastily busy in securing their personal interests and this is what they capitalize on and may I add with brutality for the rest of the people if there is any hindrance.
Put your hand on your heart and as you feel that pounding involuntarily tell if you are sincere in your cause with due diligence towards the nation and people of Pakistan.
If and it is a BIG IF everyone of us honestly ask themselves what they have done for their country, I dont think majority of us will have much to count if not all of us.
But, we should remember one thing and that there is a Supreme Authority whom we remain accountable to after we complete our temporary stay in this world, in HIS court there is no way to avoid telling the truth since, HE KNOWETH ALL THAT IS CONCEALED AND ALL THAT IS EVIDENT.
May Allah SWT lead us on the right path so that we can began to act like muslim brethren are expected to, ameen.

Matloob Zaman, Pakistan - 16 May, 2007

We know that Musharraf can not lead Pakistan forever but the "runner ups" that we have seen so far can run organizations, businesses, universities, and a madaris but their capabilities of running a nation is a questionable. I am scared that Pakistan is going back to it's early 1990's days.

Who do you think can lead Pakistan?

Mujtaba Ali, United Kingdom - 17 May, 2007

Mujtaba Ali, United States of America

Well summarized Mr. Mujtaba Ali, I dont see much other than the veterans of Pak Politics arena who are eyeing the seats of power over and again, they just dont let it go. And, then there are those who have never succeeded yet they dont fail and give up and let the new generation rise from the ashes of democracy. The nature of this beast compels them to never let go and they have always succeeded in provoking the emotions of general public with the golden promises like those "roti, kapra aur makan", socialism while they remain the richest of all and hold enough agricultural lands to accomodate upto 22 railway stations yet their poverished cultivator works hard and also comes to touch their feet, how human is it and how islamic it is. We just cant see anyone sitting in the seat other than ourselves, and if it takes tearing down the country and disrupting the peace in our homeland we dont care, however, if it was not for Gen. Musharaf I dont know where and into what our politicians would have led our nation to. But as the saying goes, they just dont get it.
Regards.

Matloob Zaman, Pakistan - 18 May, 2007

so koray so payaz (hundered lashes and hundred onions)

This article shows only a narrow vision of the Writer. If the intention was to record the woes of Pakistani Public at the hands of military then why were the politicians and Mullahs forgotten. Do we deal with them one by one and let them put us in a quandry every now and then. You are worried about PPP's deal with Musharraf. It is shame that the writer has a softcorner for those who have given no better treatment to this wretched country. The tragedy is that our politicians and enerals want to have their turns and our intellecuals, writers, media do not mind helping them out. This support for the delinquent CJ is in the same context. Keep it Mr. whosoever you are!

What do you think about the story ? Leave your comments!

Heading (Optional)

Your Comments: *

Your Name:*

E-mail (Optional):

City (Optional):

Country (Optional):

Field marked(*) are mandatory.
Note. The PakTribune will publish as many comments as possible but cannot guarantee publication of all. PakTribune keeps its rights reserved to edit the comments for reasons of clarity, brevity and morality.
The external links like http:// https:// etc... are not allowed for the time being to be posted inside comments to discourage spammers.